Marsha A. Goetting, Ph.D., CFP, CFCS

Extension Family Economics Specialist

P.O. Box 172800

Bozeman, MT 59717-2800

phone: (406) 994-5695 fax: (406) 994-4838

E-mail: goetting@montana.eduLocation: 208C Linfield Hall

Web site

Summer 4-H season for me (Jane Wolery) and therefore I was a little delayed bringing you this article from Marsha Goetting that she sent to me in June!

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June equates to wildflower season in Montana.  That means it’s time for me to grab my camera, tripod, and backpack and head for the mountains.  I spent the first Saturday in early June hiking around state lands in the mountains near Bozeman.  A variety of wildflower were blooming….prairie smokes, larkspurs, shooting stars, ball head waterleafs and many, many more.  I really didn’t care that it rained most of the time and that it was too windy to take photographs…. I was just happy to be among the millions of blooming flowers.

Albino Fairy Slipper

My husband (Gary) and I spent the next two weekends in June in the northern section of Yellowstone National Park.  I was ecstatic to find an Albino Fairy slipper.  Contrast the Albino with the normal purple-ish one below.  Aren’t they both beautiful?  A fairy slipper is sometimes called a Calypso orchid.  This flower has a very specialized reproduction system, requiring exacting habitat conditions so finding one calls for a celebration.

When you visit Yellowstone this time of year you experience what we locals call “Bear Jams.”  You can almost tell when a person sees a bear for the first time.  The driver stops the car, four doors blast open and people run out with their cameras in hand to take a photo of the bear.  Never mind that the bear will only appear as a black dot on the final picture.

Fairy Slipper

 I can’t blame them for their excitement in one way, but when you are stuck on the road for a half hour because the person in front of you and the driver in the opposite lane have abandoned their cars, we locals tend to get a bit testy.  However I must confess that because of a “Bear Jam” we were fortunate to see a mother black bear and her two cubs churning up grass and eating grubs.  We also saw grizzly bear grazing in a picnic area.  Luckily no one was picnicking at the time!

Chocolate Lily

Gary’s find of the day the second weekend in June was the tallest Chocolate Lily we had ever seen.  Chocolate lilies are a challenge to photograph because the flowers hang downward like a bell.  The tallness of this one allowed Gary to get “up close and personal” with one of the flowers on the stalk as you can tell from the photo below.

You won’t find any fairy slippers or chocolate lilies at Big Sky in September during the NEAFCS 2016 Conference because our blooming season is usually mid-May to late June. But if you attend my preconference on September 12 entitled….Wildflower Reflections:  Families, Legacies, and Estate Planning you will meet the Fairy Slipper Family and learn how one father accidently disinherited his children by having the property in joint tenancy with his new wife.

Speaking of flowers ... if you are looking for a way to send a lasting bouquet to friends on their birthdays, consider purchasing Montana wildflower note cards as a gift.  Plus, you'll also be providing support for the NEAFCS 2016 conference. 

More information here.

Taking Care of Those You Love

Larkspur—Beautiful….but also poisonous

Marsha Goetting, MSU Extension

Family Economics Specialist

When I became an obsessive Wildflower Photographer during our Montana summers I made a decision that I would focus on common names of the wildflowers rather than trying to learn the genus and species…after all this was to be my hobby for enjoyment, not a class in which I would have to learn the scientific nomenclature that was proposed by Carolus Linneaeus, a Swedish botanist who lived from 1707-78.   That’s why I call this beautiful wildflower a larkspur and not a Delphinium bicolor.  Larkspurs contain many toxic alkaloids that can cause skin reactions and affect the nervous and respiratory systems.  The plants are poisonous for cattle, if eaten in large amounts.  Sheep are more tolerant of the plants toxicity.

Larkspurs are found on grassy prairies, on meadows, and in ponderosa pine forests up to subalpine zones in west, central, and east Montana.  You won’t find any at Big Sky in September during the NEAFCS Conference because by then we will have had a “hard” freeze.  But if you attend my preconference on September 12 entitled….Wildflower Reflections:  Families, Legacies, and Estate Planning you will meet the Larkspur Family and see the “toxic” and detrimental impact of the lack of planning.  You will also learn some ways you can take care of those you love through planning ... leave them with the beauty, not the poison of poor planning.

Speaking of love ... if you are looking for a way to send a lasting bouquet to someone you love, consider purchasing Marsha's Montana wildflower cards as a gift.  Plus, you'll also be giving to support the NEAFCS 2016 conference. More information here.